Apprentice Tales
by Vulp-pop
Summary: The tales of one apprentice and the trials and tribulations that he must go through to become the best and make something of himself.  R&R


Task One: Horror in Cloves

"Alchemy can be considered the second corner-stone for wizards and sorcerers alike. Unlike magic which can be anything from natural elements of the world or a powerful energy, it cannot 'create' pure substances. While you may be able to materialize a beast of some kind, you are merely 'summoning' it from another realm temporarily. So with alchemy you can create certain things that can be vital to your success. It is very similar to cooking in a sense: you take several ingredients, mix them together as per the instructions and you will get something different from what you started with. Though it is a far more complex matter than that-"

Mozenrath sat at the table looking bored out of his mind. He was only five years in age from a few weeks ago. For a boy his age he was of normal height with a skinny frame, and fair skin. He wore a hooded, brown, sleeveless satin robe with a 'v' neck and ended just a little below his knees. Underneath he wore a stiff white linen tunic and pants which both curved inwards at the end. And a pair of sandals with where loose on his small feet but looked to be brand new. His hand propped up his head accented his look of boredom with his check being pushed up into his eyes. An old book bind by old, rough looking leather was opened to some of the first pages of the text.

The room he was in was medium in size and rectangular; and only lit by a few lights that dangled from the beams below the dome roof above his head. There were a few more tables to each of his side where glass tubes, beakers, mortars and pestles and the likes sat on top. And in front of the room where the boy had been staring into space was a large black-board with several things written upon it in white chalk, while Destane stood with his back turned to him on the right side.

The man was old, once what was dark hair turned gray; parts of it even looked pure white. His coarse long hair reached his shoulders but was mostly covered by a dark, blue turban upon his head. His face was long and stout, his fairly tan skin began to look like leather from the wrinkles and age that tolled on his face. He appeared to be fairly big to the boy; wearing a silk, black robe with golden trim that caped his form. And underneath that was a blue robe which in the front end just below the knees before v'ing around and ending at his ankles. His black boots could be seen clearly, as well as a pair of matching-color pants he wore underneath. And lastly was a long, brown glove that he wore on his right hand, that had a black trim where it came to a point with the end's of the glove.

He spoke in a mono-toned voice, that sounded like even he had been bored of what he spoke. Whether it was true was unknown to the boy, he was too preoccupied starring out into space. As Destane droned on, his eyelids began to sink. Why did this old man have to be so _boring_? Mozenrath had thought he was signing up to become something important, something much more than being born in poverty in a small village; not listen to boring lectures that went on, and on, and on, and on...

Soon, without his control his eyes shut. His consciousness slipped from him, leaving the boring world behind him. He would look peaceful and innocent in his sleeping state, but it wouldn't last for long. He would be rudely awakened by a loud _THEWOP. _His eyes shot open as musty dust gagged his nostrils and burned his eyes. The boy coughed, waving the dust away as his book flopped down from it's standing position. As the boy gained his breath, he slowly opened his eyes to see a shadow over him. He froze in place.

His eyes moved, slowly and methodically upwards seeing his master's form in front of him. Destane looked down with a serious, foreboding gaze. His arms folded above his chest, and the boy felt a small chill run down his spine. A noise of flapping wings broke the silence as a brown falcon landed on the master's shoulder, looking down at the boy dully.

"Already falling asleep during class," The falcon spoke in a somewhat high-pitched male voice, "Well now that's no good at all!"

Mozenrath smiled weakly. "Sorry, sir. I'm just a little..._tired_ since I couldn't sleep so well last night. I did not mean to faint at such an… _interesting_ lecture."

The old man let out of 'hfmph', raising a brow. " I suppose it would be hard to sleep in a new setting." he began in a low tone, "Going from a straw mat to a downed bed could be uncomfortable."

The boy couldn't tell if the old man was being sarcastic or being serious. His tone had no feeling in it; it was just dead and hollow sounding.

"Either way, I suppose you will need something to wake you up; get the blood running a bit."

Destane turned around and walked away from him. The boy sighed in relief. Now that the old man wasn't hanging over him he felt like he could breath. But as his luck would have it, the falcon on the old man's shoulders flew off and landed on the table to the boy's right. It narrowed its eyes in his direction, which Mozenrath returned.

His attention would be brought to a book that hovered in front of him, with the pages turned somewhere in the middle of the book. Destane's finger pointed to a picture on the page while he looked down on Mozenrath from behind it.

"This is a clove plant," he began, as Mozenrath looked at the black and white picture of the plant. "I want you to go the conservatory and grab a few whole cloves. We shall need them for the first potion."

"That's it?" Mozenrath replied.

"That is all I require you to do, yes." Destane closed the book in front of the boy, and guided back to a nearby shelf with his gloved hand; which glowed red like the aura around the book. The old man's back was turned as he held his left hand behind his back. "Now go. Don't dawdle."

Mozenrath let out a silent 'yes!' as he pumped his fist down. He lifted the brown hood from his robe up as he jumped off the tall stool he sat upon. He rushed over to the large wooden door that was shaped like a spade and opened it in ecstasy.

"Oh, and before I forget-"

The boy stopped in the doorway to turn around towards Destane.

"-Don't harm any other plants while you're down there. I will not be happy if I find anything...out of place."

"Yes, sir." Mozenrath replied dully, before turning around and running off.

The falcon flew back onto Destane's shoulder, and eyed him. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh boy, this is a bad one." the falcon began.

Destane took his right hand and began to pat the large bird's head.

"Now now, Vil'an. This is just the beginning point." Destane stated. "The boy is simply not used to conventional instruction. He will get used to it in time. You've been with me long enough to know that children like playing rather than learning."

"Yeah, but not this soon!" Vil'an exclaimed, rustling his feathers before flying off to a near-by stand.

"All children are different, and this boy is no exception."

"Different?" Vil'an exclaimed, "He's trouble! They're -always- trouble! Even the kind that are too stupid to comprehend a situation. Why can't you ever pick a kid that's nice? Or at least compliant!"

Destane eyed the bird and shook his head. "You know my policy well enough bird."

"Yeah, yeah- No parents, no home, no future." the falcon repeated what he had heard constantly through the years in a droning voice.

"He'll become disciplined soon enough. Now go, at this stage he should be watched. _Carefull_y."

The falcon rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Dawwwwoo, do I really have to?" He whined. "Can't you just let the monkey handle himself?"

"No, now get going! You'd be surprised how much distance a young boy could go in such a short amount of time."

Mozenrath slowed down, breathing heavy as he let out a light hearted chuckle. It felt good to run a long distance after being cramped in a small room and a boring speech. The small boy walked in strides as he made his way to the conservatory.

"Man, I didn't imagine this would be so _dull_!" the boy said aloud as he looked up with his shoulders following. As he walked on he stood straighter, dawning a stone-cold face like his master and proceeded to talk in a low, mocking tone.

"_Blah, blah, blah, I'm old. Blah, blah, blah, I'm boring. Blah, blah, blah-_"

"-You're going to get a serious punishment if he ever hears you speaking like about him!"

The child stopped dead, as he looked over his shoulder. He had heard the large bird and could still hear his wings flapping, but couldn't see him. He soon felt a large weight land on his head though, which made him bend over a little.

"-Get off me!"

He swiped his hand several times where he felt the bird's weight to get him to shoo. Vil'an flew off in front of him and landed on the floor, moving his legs to face him.

"Terrible sorry. I get your black, oily, thick-coiled hair mixed up with my nest. Silly me."

Mozenrath pouted angrily as he glared at the falcon. He folded his arms as he looked down at the bird of prey. "What are _you_ doing here?" He huffed.

"Between you and me boy, I'd rather be babysitting a crocodile than you." the bird began with frustration, "But I have my orders from the master to keep an eye on you."

"Fffee, I don't need some stupid bird watching me!" Mozenrath barked as his hands flew to his side.

"I would agree but _'have to'_ and _'want to'_ don't always mesh."

Mozenrath didn't reply, he simply began to stomp off. The less time he had to spend hearing the falcon, the better. He went straight towards Vil'an which caused him to fly out of the way, to get out of the boy's march. The bird didn't seem annoyed by it; he had more or less expected it. He continued to flap his wings, keeping by Mozenrath's side (to his displeasure).

"Now, you remember what you're going after?" The falcon piped up.

The boy growled, his eyes shooting daggers at the bird. "_Yes,_" he began, "I'm getting some whole cloves!"

"Don't act all offensive. I don't know if that saucepan of a brain can hold that information for long!"

Urg, this bird's a pain. Suddenly, he wished he was listening to a boring lecture rather than this bird. He couldn't stand people nagging him, or being condescending. He didn't care if he couldn't count to ten, it didn't mean he was stupid! Mozenrath's eyes lightened, as he brought his hands up to look at them. He remembered that Destane told him he had 'ten' fingers, and proceeded to twitch each of his fingers from right to left.

"_What on earth are you doing_?"

The boy brought his hands down quickly, clenching immediately in shock as he turned towards the bird with a fire in his eyes.

"Not being nosey, like you!" Mozenrath snapped. "How much further is the conservatory anyways?"

The bird rolled his eyes. "Half-way there." He answered shortly.

As they continued down the hallways that would lead to their destination, the boy saw things he'd never seen before. Brooms and mops with wooden poles had arms and moved by themselves. They swept, moped, and walked on the walls to scrub them clean while carrying buckets in their hands. Torches lit themselves as they walked past, and would go out as soon as they were far enough away. The only thing that would make this place better was some sunlight. It was so dark and dreary; the dark clouds in the sky never seemed to go away. And with the creepy mamluks roaming around, he could have mistaken this place for the underworld. The décor could use a bit of a pick-me up as well. Eventually, Mozenrath saw a pair of doors with two metal-golden snakes adorned on them at the end of the hallway.

"There we are!"

A wooden staff stood in front of the doors that acted as a resting stop for the falcon. The boy looked up at the doors, slight fear glinting in his eyes. The doors were bigger than most. Takeing in a deep breath, Mozenrath placed his shoulder in between the two doors and pushed with all his might. To his own surprise the doors opened easily, where he got his first look at the conservatory. It was a circular room with a full ring of vegetation of all kinds on the floor while a small circle in the middle held some kind of large, vine-tangled plant. The walls matched everything else in the place; pale turquoise marble walls with etched designs of swirls on the top-most mold. The marble tiles where green, while a dark-tinted glass dome roofed the entire room with its own, complicated design. It was an amazing sight, though once again the boy could only note that the place needed a lot more light.

Looking at all of the greenery around him, the child's face slowly contracted to dumbfound expression. So much green, more than he'd ever seen in his life. Not only that, he soon felt a little flustered when a realization hit him.

"The all look the same!" He exclaimed in panic, as he brought his hands up into his hair.

Vil'an let out a loud laugh. "AHAHAhahhaha, not as easy as you thought, huh boy?"

Slowly turning his head around, he looked at the falcon with malice. The bird returned his malice with a smug smile, as he motioned his wings in a forward sweeping motion.

"Go on now; I'll wait for you here while you get the ingredient. And remember not to 'dawdle'."

Mozenrath grumbled under his breath as he turned back around and marched into the room. He went over to the right to begin his search for the plant Destane asked for. He'd stop once in front of the majority of the plants and set his clenched fists on his hips. The boy's eyes darted over the various greens before him. Everything looked so similar. How was he going to find this stupid plant?

He breathed in deep and closed his eyes. He tried to visualize the page that his master put in front of him. He began to see the dried, old page with heavy black ink that was artistic, yet meticulously scrawled on the yellowed paper from the old book. All the while he breathed in gentle to calm his nerves, since he wouldn't be able to remember with anger clouding everything.

He opened his eyes once he recalled the picture of what he was looking for. It would look kind of like a flower with a really thin bud. That was the best way he could describe it. He scanned the area again as careful as he could. When he saw for certain that the plant wasn't there, he moved on. He repeated this several times, getting himself all the way to the middle of the room. He eyed the plants careful; if he had missed it he would have to hurt himself later.

For'tuna frowned. The boy had gotten his bearings. For a moment, he'd thought he would be entertained. But as he watched the boy move on and on to the middle of the room he began to see something stirring. He cocked his head in curiosity. The fairly large plant in the middle began to twitch. The bird's eyes widened. He brought his head back in an up-right position and gaped his mouth as he looked back towards the boy.

Mozenrath was oblivious to what was happening behind him. He was focusing all of his attention on finding the cloves than to see any movements going on behind him. For'tuna mentally face-palmed.

"Boy!" He shouted at him, but the boy did not turn. The falcon grumbled. "BOY!" He yelled louder, cupping his wings over his beak.

Still, not an answer or even assurance that he heard. Blast the boy, he needed to pay better attention! For'tuna tried to remember his name; he was always bad with them. Not like he really cared about the names of people in the first place.

"Motzenroth!"

Mozenrath gritted his teeth. He tried to stay calm, as ignored the bird the best he could. He needed to find that clove plant. He walked over towards the left, still not seeing any cloves.

"MOTZENROTH!"

The boy stepped to the side once he didn't see the cloves, scanning a new area for the plant. His clenched fist tightened, his incense level rose ever-higher.

"_HEY, MOTZY!_"

Finally, the boy snapped. He turned around as fury glinted in his eyes. "_WHAT?_"

He froze. Something was amiss. The plant in the middle had changed somehow. It once looked like a bunch of greens that had been clumped together, but all of a sudden the middle part of the clump was gone. It looked like a large stalk had risen up from it, and Mozenrath could hear gnarled breathing above. Moving his head very slowly to not draw attention, he looked up. Towering over his small form was a large, venues-fly trap looking plant, which drooled like some kind of pit-bull through pointy pearly teeth in its jaws. He couldn't tell if it saw him, it didn't look like it had eyes but it certainly wasn't reacting to him. He could see the clump of vines that surrounded the fly-trap started to wriggle and move slowly out of there place; unknotting from the other vines that managed to get tangled together.

The boy's heart felt like it was trying to escape through his chest, thumping loudly against his rib cage like it was a prison cell. His mind yelled to move, but his body felt paralyzed. He gulped slowly, trying not to make any sudden movement. He looked around him, trying to find something, anything that could help him. Thankfully, there were several sticks laying about; from small trees and brushes that had fallen to the ground. Gradually he squatted down, putting his hand back so he could start feeling around.

The plant hadn't noticed him yet, the boy gave a mental sigh for it. Tapping his hand around where he had seen a stick, it took just a moment for him to finally feel the rough wood scrape against his hands. Without a moment to lose, he grabbed it and tossed it over the creatures head. It's head snapped to follow it, and Mozenrath took off in an instant, running as fast as his feet could take him back to the doors of the room. When the plant would finally notice him, the boy was already out of range.

He practically ran into the door as he skidded on the marble floors to a halt, gasping for air desperately. He bent his body over and placed his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. When he would calm down, he looked over towards Vil'an.

"Wh-what _IS_ that thing!" The boy exclaimed, looking at the falcon in distress; all the while gasping for breath.

"A species of Ya-te-veo. Or, to you a man-eating plant."

Mozenrath's eyes widened to the point they looked like they could pop straight out of his skull. He looked over his shoulder quickly with a hopeless expression to get another look at the plant. It was fully awake now, all the vines had unraveled completely from their resting spot. They wiggled as they stretched out as far as they could. The boy looked back towards the bird, his body straightened while his eyes were still large; but now his eyebrows creased his forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a man-eating plant in the room!" Mozenrath yelled in rage while he raised his arms up in the air as high as he could before dropping them low to where he hunched over at the end. He was being very over dramatic, but he wanted to get the point across.

"Well, I didn't think you'd take so long to find the cloves over there." The hawk replied calmly; extending his left wing out to point over to the section that Mozenrath hadn't gotten a chance to search.

The boy's brain practically broke. It felt as though it had just shut down on him, leaving his face with an astonished look. His right eye twitched a few times with his mouth gaping slightly. Only one thing ran through his mind as he looked at the bird.

"You knew where the cloves where this entire time?" the boy asked fairly quietly.

"Of course! I know of every plant in this room." Vil'an replied.

Slowly, Mozenrath's eyebrow's furrowed. His eyes tapered, and his mouth shut tightly while a grimace formed. He gave the falcon a loathe-sum stare.

"_I __**hate**__ you..._"

A monstrous screech echoed through the room, causing the boy to turn back around. The plant's head looked directly at him, it's limbs trying to reach; but they were all to short to even get close to him. This brought him back to reality. He still hadn't gotten the cloves, and now this killer plant had awoken to get in between him and the plants. The boy face-palmed in grief. And he thought this would be easy. He let out a weary sigh, running his hand down in the process.

"Is it 'literally' a man-eating plant, or is it a meat-eater that just-so-happens to eat people?" Mozenrath asked, not bothering to look at the bird with his dull expression.

The falcon was genuinely surprised. He didn't think that the boy would ask that kind of question. Vil'an hopped over on his resting stick before answering him.

"It eats primarily meats- which would include humans."

"Good, then I know exactly what to do."

The boy turned around and walked out of the conservatory, making the falcon dazed. The hawk hopped again, this time to turn around.

"Where are you going?" Vil'an called out, cupping a wing over his beak.

"To the kitchen. I'm always hungry when I wake up; I'm guessing the plants the same!"

Mozenrath finished tying the rope to the large, leg of ham. He stood against the wall right next to the doors of the conservatory, so he wouldn't be seen by the plant. He held the thick, short, but slender stick out that the rope was attached too with a triumphant grin. He glanced over towards the falcon and held out the stick towards him.

"Okay, now take this and fly above the plant-"

"What?" Vil'an cut him off, sounding offended. "Since when did I say I was going to help _you_?"

"Since '_Master_' told you to watch me!" he snapped back at him, before closing his eyes smugly as he shrugged, "Or, you know, you can just wait here all day until it falls asleep so that I can get the cloves. You're choice."

The falcon was taken aback by this, before looking angrily defeated. "Fine! But I'm only helping because I want this over with!"

The falcon flew off the post and grabbed a hold of the short stick with his talons. Surprisingly, the hawk had no trouble lifting it up, as he flew into the conservatory. He bolted up fast, to get as high as he could above the plant. His entrance immediately caught the plant's attention, as it focused on the falcon and leg of meat it carried. It's limbs and head stretched as far as they could into the air above to grab the bird and meat, snapping it's larges jaws as it screeched. But the falcon hovered over the plant, not to high, but not too low either.

"Come on! Work for your meal!" The falcon shouted at it, keeping it preoccupied.

This is the boy's chance. Quietly, he rushed over towards the left, remembering the direction the bird had pointed his wings. His heart deafened his hearing, but he felt victorious that his idea had worked. He started to scan greenery quickly; Mozenrath didn't have any time to waste. He didn't know how long the falcon could distract the mat-eating plant, so he had to hurry; lest he become plant-food.

"Come on, come on, hurry!" Vil'an shouted, as he dodged the plants limbs.

'_Don't rush me!' _Mozenrath replied in his head, as he franticly looked through the vegetation. Where was this stupid plant at? As he moved to the right, something caught his eyes. He walked towards it, to get a closer look. It was a small tree with long, green leaves that looked almost plastic with their shiny, smooth surface. On the branches where thin, red, nail like buds stood out to his eyes. The cloves, he'd finally found them! He snapped off a quite few branches, and stuffed them in the inside of his brown robe for safe keeping.

"Come on, come on, get out of there-OOFF!"

The falcon had messed up, and dropped a little two low. The plant took advantage in an instant as it swiped the meat right out of the bird's grip and knocked him all the way to the wall. Vil'an's side hit the wall hard, but managed to stay in flight. He shook his head as he tried to gain his altitude, and looked towards Mozenrath. The boy in turn saw the large man-eating plant chomp on the large ham leg, hearing the sounds of bone being mashed in the plant's massive jaws.

The boy bolted to the door. Maybe he would have enough time to get into the clear with it being pre-occupied. But that thought had been thrown out when he felt something wrap around his ankle. The boy was yanked back, falling onto the floor stomach-first, and desperately clawing his fingers on the smooth tiles. He was soon lifted over the plant's head, it's mouth a gap and ready to eat him whole. The boy had been beyond terrified, looking into the mouth of the creature with his eyes wide.

"Use cloves!" The falcon shouted.

The boy didn't even think about it, he grabbed one of the branches from his robe quickly and threw it down into the mouth just as the plant let go of him. As soon as the branch hit the creatures mouth it chomped and chewed; grabbing the boy by his waist once it noticed he didn't land in it's mouth. There was a delay in the plant's action, as it stopped chewing. It's head perked, as all the vines stayed perfectly still. Mozenrath struggled in the vine's grip, panicking from his situation. He soon found himself being hurled across the room, as the plant began to react violently. It spat, and gagged, its limbs wriggling in what looked like agony as it wailed loudly.

The boy landed on the ground hard, scrambling to get up. He didn't bother to look back; he just covered his ears, and ran stumblingly to the door. Once in the safety-zone, Mozenrath collapsed onto his knees and hands, panting heavily. And he thought his heart felt bad before. It screamed and banged in his chest more than before to the point it felt it would explode. His muscles tightened up, and his entire body shook ferociously from a combination of fear and the adrenaline rush he took; causing his gut to twist up like a rubber band. He hadn't realized how scared he had been until he was away from the jaws of the beast.

"Hahahaha, _ohhh well_, he won't be eating anything soon! Ahahahaha!" The falcon landed on the floor next to the boy, his head turning towards him with a large smile on his face. Seeing the boy in his post-horror position though, the bird frowned and hovering only a little above the floor, moved over to be in front of him. He landed, facing him.

"Take a deep breath, slowly. And breath through the nose, not the mouth."

Mozenrath didn't reply he just gasped, shutting his mouth tight as he breathed in through his nose. He breathed out slowly, and breathed in big. He felt his heart slowing down, though he was still shaking quite bad.

"That's right; just do that for a minute or two. Listen kid, I hope you learn something from this," Vil'an began, his words coming out harsh. "This line of work ain't easy. Most people go through their lives only having to deal with normal hardships, but you've got to deal with the abnormal. That plant- it's only at the base of the mountain you have to climb. You think that thing's ugly? Wait 'till you see a Cyclopes, a Sphinx, or even worse- a dragon. And the only thing you're going to have is your wits and knowledge to face them."

The falcon hopped into the air, flapping his wings.

"-so you'd better not fall asleep during the master's lectures again, and study, study, STUDY. Now get up, you still have to deliver those cloves!"

Mozenrath had gained most of his composure, but still looked paler than usual with a dreary look on his face. As he entered through the doors, he saw a dark shadow hovering over him and the sight of Destane's robes. The old man looked down on him with unsympethic eyes.

"What took you so long?" He bellowed, bending over to get closer to the boy's face. "Did I not say to you to not dawdle?"

The boy shrunk in his presence, his shoulders went up as his body tensed and turned slightly away from him. He didn't dare to avert his gaze, though he felt like running away once again as fear showed clearly on his face. The hawk flew in around that time, causing Destane's attention to turn as he stood upright. The falcon landed on his shoulder, giving Destane a particularly dull look.

"He was 'delayed', master. I'm afraid Ya-te-veo woke up on him as he searched for the plant."

Destane growled, turning around swiftly and glided forward like he walked on air. "Useless!" He shouted, throwing his hands into the air, "Can't even find a plant when pointed in the general direction!"

Vil'an's eyes grew large, a wide and nervous looking smile creeping onto his face as he let out an awkward chuckle. "Well, heh, you never said anything about pointing out a general direction..."

The old man stopped; as Mozenrath saw his head perk up from behind. He looked towards his familiar with a menacing glare.

"Do you mean to tell me Vil'an, that you let that boy wander in my conservatory, trying to find a plant when he has no idea where everything is at; and in the process wasting his and _my_ time?"

Destane started low and crescendo in a very irritated tone. It was the bird's turn to flinch and shrink.

"...Yes?" he replied in a small voice.

The old man scowled, and attempted to thwack the bird with his open hand several times; all which ended up being dodged by Vil'an flying up into the air.

"Begone from my sight, fowl!" Destane sneered. "I will deal with you later!"

The falcon did as the old man commanded, flying straight out of the door as fast as his wings could carry him. Mozenrath watched this, turning towards the door with a satisfied smile on his face. He felt joy for the bird's pain. Karma was ever so _sweet_.

"_A-hem_."

The boy turned around to see an open hand out towards him. Destane's face lightened, he no longer looking angry towards him as he held his right hand behind his back.

"The cloves, please."

Mozenrath blinked, and reached into his robe; pulling out one small branches filled with little red blubs. He placed them in the old man's hands with care. Gripping his hands lightly, Destane walked gracefully over to his own table and placed the cloves down, before turning back toward the boy.

"Very good. Now, take your seat and turn to page five. And this time, _don't_ fall asleep."

"Oh, I won't!" Mozenrath replied quickly, taking his seat and opening his book that laid on the table. "I'm awake, and ready to learn!"

As the old man turned his back to face the large black board, he gave a slight smile.

[Author's notes: This is far more in the original Aladdin series spirit of things. If you're looking for an angst-y look on Mozenrath's past then I would suggest looking else-where. I am not a believer of the Freudian Excuse, and though I may have already said this on my profile page I will say this again. The -only- thing we are given about Destane as far as a description was 'Even Jafar stayed clear of him. He's a real **hardcase.**" Which means he's rough, tough, and ruthless. This does NOT equal TORTURE. Not to mention Mozenrath acts far too bratty as an adult to have been brutally tortured like he has in a lot of fan fictions. And don't say that he isn't, no adult shouts out 'It's not fair!' unless they are bratty.

Not to say I am dissing anyone who's likes that particular idea for his past, it's just that I personally don't like this take. It just doesn't make sense and acts as a Freudian Excuse why he's a bad person; and frankly, I'd rather not have a Freudian Excuse for him. Reading it once was interesting, seeing it five more times is just boring.

With that little insight(rant) to how I think and feel, I hope you enjoyed this. Leave a comment, point out my mistakes. God knows I'm horrbile with my gramer and spelling, but I do my best to find them all. ]


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